High School

Education news, analysis, and opinion about schools typically serving 9th to 12th grades and the students who attend them

Series

The High School Handoff
A new series examines how high school is evolving to reflect changing pathways to degrees, credentials, and the workforce.
Vincent Lombardy, the Training and Employee Development manager at VTL Precision in Ladson, S.C., shows Ty’Celia Young how to use a new piece of equipment to measure the wear on cutting tools down to the micron. Young is an apprentice in VTL's industrial mechanics program, and a senior in high school at Garrett Academy of Technology in North Charleston, S.C.
Vincent Lombardy, the Training and Employee Development manager at VTL Precision in Ladson, S.C., shows Ty’Celia Young how to use a new piece of equipment to measure the wear on cutting tools down to the micron. Young is an apprentice in VTL's industrial mechanics program, and a senior in high school at Garrett Academy of Technology in North Charleston, S.C.
Brett Flashnick for Education Week
College & Workforce Readiness Go-Between Groups Help Businesses, Schools Shape Apprenticeships
In South Carolina and elsewhere, new concierge services are smoothing the way for businesses and schools to create real-world work opportunities for students.
Catherine Gewertz, February 13, 2018
7 min read
College & Workforce Readiness D.C.'s Scandal and the Nationwide Problem of Fudging Graduation Numbers
The revelations about District of Columbia schools have unleashed a wave of questions about the pressures and incentives built into U.S. high schools, and fueled nagging doubts that states’ rising high school graduation rates—and the country’s all-time-high rate of 84 percent—aren’t what they seem.
Catherine Gewertz, February 9, 2018
7 min read
Washington schools chief Antwan Wilson and Mayor Muriel Bowser review an independent audit of attendance and graduation policies in the city’s public schools last month.
Washington schools chief Antwan Wilson and Mayor Muriel Bowser review an independent audit of attendance and graduation policies in the city’s public schools last month.
Jahi Chikwendiu/The Washington Post via Getty
Student Absenteeism Opinion The D.C. Public School Attendance Scandal: Where's the Outrage?
The uncharacteristic silence of education’s accountability hawks on Washington’s fraudulent graduation rate reveals their partisan blinders, writes Erika Sanzi.
Erika Sanzi, February 8, 2018
4 min read
Social Studies Opinion Young People as Change Agents: The Obama Foundation's Approach to Civics Engagement
To solve some of our biggest challenges, young people must be inspired to connect and work with people regardless of backgrounds.
David Simas, January 10, 2018
6 min read
School & District Management Foreign-Language Courses Plummet in Oklahoma. What About Other States?
A third of Oklahoma high schools no longer offer even one foreign language; rural schools are hardest hit. A lack of data makes it hard to know whether other states have similar patterns.
Stephen Sawchuk, January 4, 2018
1 min read
Students recite their poems to the wall in English teacher Lance Fisher's classroom at Mount Vernon High School in Mount Vernon, Wash. The exercise is designed to reduce jitters as students prepare to perform the poems they’ve memorized.
Students recite their poems to the wall in English teacher Lance Fisher's classroom at Mount Vernon High School in Mount Vernon, Wash. The exercise is designed to reduce jitters as students prepare to perform the poems they’ve memorized.
Ian C. Bates for Education Week
Reading & Literacy Reciting Other People's Poetry: A Dusty Relic or Powerful Teaching Tool?
A national program is working with teachers around the country to persuade students that reciting other people's poetry can be as transformative as performing their own.
Catherine Gewertz, January 3, 2018
7 min read
Science From Our Research Center Chemistry Absent From 3 in 5 Secondary Schools, Analysis Finds
Many schools don't offer a standalone chemistry class, and even in those that do, black and Hispanic students are less likely to take it.
Stephen Sawchuk, December 27, 2017
1 min read
School & District Management Teaching Financial Literacy: Does Your State Make the Grade?
Twenty-six states scored in the C through F range in a new report on financial literacy in high schools.
Brenda Iasevoli, December 21, 2017
2 min read
Federal What's Behind the Record Rises in U.S. Graduation Rates?
Experts and policymakers offer differing thoughts on the reasons behind the recent rises in high school graduation rates, which are affecting students from nearly every racial and income group and those with disabilities.
Education Week Staff, December 7, 2017
6 min read
A student works a problem in the pages of a prep book during a test practice class at a high school in Naperville, Ill. Illinois is one of a dozen states that have had to set “proficiency” cut scores on the SAT, and in some cases, those are higher than the scores for college readiness.
A student works a problem in the pages of a prep book during a test practice class at a high school in Naperville, Ill. Illinois is one of a dozen states that have had to set “proficiency” cut scores on the SAT, and in some cases, those are higher than the scores for college readiness.
Abel Uribe/Chicago Tribune/TNS
College & Workforce Readiness To Be 'Proficient' in Illinois, You Have to Be More Than College-Ready
Illinois sparks controversy by setting its bar for proficiency higher than the college-readiness score on the SAT.
Catherine Gewertz, November 17, 2017
5 min read
Parents (from left) Silvia Servin (with daughter Victoria Torres, 4), Abigail Perez, and Andrea Cortez listen during a parent-training session in Modesto, Calif. The session was organized by PIQE, the Parent Institute for Quality Education, which teaches parents how to advocate for their children and navigate an education system that may be unfamiliar to them.
Parents (from left) Silvia Servin (with daughter Victoria Torres, 4), Abigail Perez, and Andrea Cortez listen during a parent-training session in Modesto, Calif. The session was organized by PIQE, the Parent Institute for Quality Education, which teaches parents how to advocate for their children and navigate an education system that may be unfamiliar to them.
Preston Gannaway for Education Week
Families & the Community Teaching Parents the Right 'Questions to Ask' in Schools
A long-running California program teaches parents how to advocate for their children and navigate a sometimes-unfamiliar school system.
Catherine Gewertz, November 14, 2017
7 min read
College & Workforce Readiness Report Roundup Career Education
Taking career and technical education classes in high school increases students' odds of graduating on time but doesn't improve their chances of enrolling in college, finds a new study in the American Educational Research Journal.
Catherine Gewertz, November 14, 2017
1 min read
College & Workforce Readiness Report Roundup High School
Does intensive advising really have a meaningful impact on students' college access and retention? A report in an ongoing study of a program called Bottom Line, released this month by the University of Virginia and Texas A&M University, says yes.
Kate Stoltzfus, November 14, 2017
1 min read
School & District Management News in Brief Connecticut District to Require Course in Ethnic Studies for Graduation
High school students in Bridgeport, Conn., will be required to take a course in African-American studies, Latin-American studies, or perspectives on race to earn a diploma, reports the CT Post.
Brenda Iasevoli, November 14, 2017
1 min read